Dangers of the Untold Truth
by feedmewaffles
Summary: Kasdeya Rendon has a dark past that follows her eveywhere. Even her name is that of a fallen angel. As she navigates through her Hogwarts years, Kas find herself in several sticky and dangerous situations. Stubborn, sassy, peculiar, and fiercely loyal, Kas ends up on a life changing journey filled with secrets, waffles, and dungbombs. Marauder era, eventual RLXOC
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

A/N So this is a marauder era story, and there is some pairings, but that is not the focus of the story. I think that it is a mix of funny and dark/hurt and romance and non-romance/friendship – kinda a bunch of stuff. I hope you like it! Please give it a try, (I know that is a cliche thing to say, but seriously, please just read the first few chapters) and let me know what you think.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **New Beginnings**

"Are you sure about this Albus?" asked McGonagall. "She should be in hiding!"

"There is no place safer than Hogwarts," replied Dumbledore confidently as he gazed over the girl sleeping silently in the infirmary. "She will do well here."

McGonagall pursed her lips. She knew Dumbledore was wiser than any other wizard, but everyone makes mistakes. This girl needed protection. She looked over at the child in the hospital bed. Could Hogwarts really be the safest place for her?

"What happens if she tells someone her secret? Children nowadays have no thought for consequences. She could endanger the entire student body. The dark forces that she knows of…"

"I have faith in her," Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly. "She has seen enough to know more about the consequences than either of us." Dumbledore looked back at the girl, and placed a gentle hand on her arm. She shifted slightly under his touch.

McGonagall didn't continue to argue, but pursed her lips again. She didn't have faith in the girl, but she did have faith in Dumbledore. If he thought it best…. maybe it was.

"I am sorry Headmaster, but I must insist you leave," chided Madame Pomphrey as she hurried over to the girls bed and surveyed her wounds for the tenth time that hour. "All this chatter is sure to wake her, and the poor girl needs her sleep!"

"Ah yes. I couldn't agree more, Poppy. We were just on our way out." Dumbledore stood and strolled over the door of the infirmary, McGonagall not far behind. At the door, he turned to get one last glimpse of the young girl. He smiled sadly.

"Goodbye, Kasdeya," he whispered, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Winter break was not the best time to arrive at Hogwarts. After leaving the infirmary, Kasdeya found herself wondering the empty castle alone. The only company she had was her pet hedgehog, Gerry. But one can only talk to a hedgehog for so long before they feel crazy. Madame Pomphrey had instructed her to take it easy, which basically ruled out anything fun. She supposed she was lucky to leave with only a few scars on her back. Dumbledore had her sorted into a house and assigned her a bed in the fifth year girls' dorm. He asked her to spend break catching up on her course work so she would be ready to join her classmates at the start of term. While this would technically be her first year at Hogwarts, she didn't have a terrible amount of work to catch up on. She found most of her assignments to be around her skill level, although there were a few advanced topics in transfiguration and DADA she would have to ask her professors about to be completely caught up.

She had her mom to thank for her knowledge. Espella Reydon was a very extraordinary witch. She taught Kasdeya about the magical world around them since Kasdeya was born. It was like having a teacher that was a master in all subjects. Except potions. Her mother was rubbish at potions. That's where her father came in the picture. Clark Reydon was a potions master. He honed Kasdeyas skill in potions since she was old enough to hold a vile and a knife. Espella used to screech at them for spending days on end upstairs in the "abominable alchemy alcove" as she called it. Espella never trusted potions since her mother died in a potions mishap while adding exploding fluid from a erumpent horn to her draught of living death potion. She would beg Clark to keep the potion making at a minimum, lest Kasdeya get hurt. Still, she continued to learn potions with her father. It's not like Kasdeya's father payed much attention to what her mother said.

Clark was a hard man to understand. He was quiet, but not shy. He spoke his mind when he wanted to, but often seemed to think that others around him were not worthy of his words. Kasdeya often wondered why her mother stayed with him. She was such an inspiring, independent woman, and he was so closed off and controlling. Whenever her father was around, her mother changed. Her stubborn will dissolved, and she became the domesticated housewife that Kasdeya hated. She often worried that she would end up like her mother. Left with a man who wouldn't let her pursue her dreams and passions. Who told her what to do and when. Who controlled her.

Clark always encouraged Kasdeya to learn potions, but he never encouraged her to pursue any of her ambitions in her life. As far as he was concerned, Kasdeya was to get married and live a quiet life. Kasdeya never wanted quiet. In an awful way she was almost glad he was gone and no longer there to restrain her. Kasdeya knew she missed her mother, but sometimes wondered if she missed her father. How could she not miss someone who suffered so much? Is it evil to not feel bad about his fate?

Questions about her life swirled in her head whenever she had time to think. And with winter break the castle was deserted save a first year Hufflepuff and a third year Slytherin, leaving her with way too much time to think. All the thinking made her anxious. She tried to keep her anxiety levels under control, but ever since it happened, she found that she was more and more prone to anxiety. Maybe she wouldn't mind the anxiety if it didn't exacerbate her OCD. Normally her OCD was incredibly mild, just a few key phrases, and few taps on doorframes, but all the anxiety exacerbated it. She found herself avoiding the lines in the stone flooring and counting her steps in groups of eight and she wondered aimlessly thought the endless halls. She couldn't wait until term started and she would be surrounded by other people to distract her from the dark memories that crept in when walked the silent halls.

Kasdeya found herself frequently drawn to the library, but was unable to stay there for very long. As she sat in the quiet corners of the library, she found herself transported back to her grandfather's library in his old manor on the hill. When she was a child she spent much of her time in that library, hiding her fears in the books. When her father's yelling or her mother's crying became too much, she would sneak out of her room and went up the hill to the old manor. The window at the back of the library was low enough for a three year old to reach. That library was her refuge. She remembered hiding under the old pine table as she read, how it still retained its sweet foresty smell, how smooth the wood grain felt under her small hands. Kasdeya told her grandfather she would read every single book in that library, even the boring ones on muggle lawnmowers. At the time, she truly thought that she would. It was, and always will be her favorite place, even if it was now ash blended into dirt, and spread back into the earth. Though she loved the moments in the school library that took her back into her memory, she also hated it. Like all her memories that started out pleasant, it would continue and in the end she remember seeing the violent flames engulfing the library she loved.

As the nights came and went, she often found herself tossing and turning as sleep refused to greet her. Other nights she didn't want to sleep because she was afraid of the dreams. On the worse nights, she crept up to the astronomy tower with a wool blanket to sleep. Out on the tower she felt safe. She felt as if someone lifted her up above all the troubles she was facing and set her among the stars instead. The cold night air seemed to slow her racing mind, and she loved to watch the phases of the moon.

Kasdeya began to keep a journal of the night sky. She wished she knew more about astronomy, but her father would never let her learn a skill that wouldn't be useful in daily life. Perhaps, since he was gone, she could learn new things. Experience the world.

* * *

The day term started came faster than Kasdeya expected. Although she wanted it to arrive, she sat on the floor of the dorm room nervously waiting for someone to arrive. To occupy her mind, Kasdeya spent most of the morning folding and refolding her clothes, then making her bed and smoothing it out repeatedly until she couldn't see any wrinkles. Now she sat on the floor and stared at the doorknob, wiling it to turn.

Suddenly the door burst open and a spunky red head bounced through, with three other girls trailing behind. Kasdeya watched as the set down their belongings and flopped on their beds. The redhead notice Kasdeya and suddenly broke into a giant smile. She emitted more optimism and cheerfulness than anyone Kasdeya had ever met.

"Hiya! You must be Kasdeya. Dumbledore told me that a transfer student would be here!" she chirped. "My name's Lily. If you have any questions about Hogwarts feel free to ask! I am a prefect so its part of my job to help show you around!"

 _Great,_ thought Kasdeya. _So she is only going to be nice to me because of her job?_ Lily seemed to read her mind and realized what she had said.

"Oh no, Kasdeya, I didn't mean it like that!" Lily stuttered. "I meant that as a prefect I know all the answers to any questions and whatnot, so if you need to know anything I would be a great person to ask!" Kasdeya smiled up at her and Lily finally seemed to realize Kasdeya was still sitting on the floor and extended her hand. Kasdeya took the offer and stood up.

"NOW! Allow me to introduce you!" Lily announced. "This is Mary – she is the one to go to for all things girly: boy advice, bras, hair, make up, all that jazz. And that is Marlene, SHE has a crush on Sirius Bla—"

"I DO NOT!" a blonde curly haired girl interjected, her face red from embarrassment.

"—and last, but not least, Alice. She is AMAZING at herbology. Could never get the hang of the subject myself." Kasdeya laughed at the girls and they began to talk about their adventures over break.

"So why did your parents name you Kasdeya?" asked Alice. "That's kinda an odd name."

"mmm, it comes from muggle mythology," Kasdeya replied, choosing her words carefully. "Kasdeya was an… angle. You can just call me Kas for short." Kasdeya puffed out her cheeks. Alice nodded, seemingly losing interest in the conversation and flipping through a magazine on her bed. Marlene looked around the room and let out a big sigh.

"Is anyone else STARVING?" she asked dramatically. "Let's head down to the great hall."

"Your just excited to see Sirius again, aren't you?" snickered Mary, which caused a blush to form on Marlene's cheeks.

"I am not!" she snapped, just a little too quickly causing the girls to start giggling. "Shut up!" Marlene got to her feet and stomped out of the room, and the other girls followed her lead.

They chatted idly about their new Christmas presents as they headed down to dinner. Kasdeya hoped they wouldn't notice if she was quite during the walk, since she had little desire to tell them about her anxiety filled break or about the fact that she receive no presents. Well, Dumbledore did send her a telescope. How that man knew he secret wish to take astronomy was beyond her.

They arrived at dinner and immediately sat together in a group. They were filling their plates when a crash followed by boisterous laughter made them all jump. Kasdeya craned her neck to see what was going on. Two boys wearing Gryffindor robes appeared to have tripped a Syltherin boy.

"Can you not just _leave him alone!"_ fumed Lily, getting to her feet. "James Potter, I swear you are the most egotistical, insolent –"

"Oi! Slow down!" one of the boys said, smirking as he took a seat next to Lily. "It was Sirius not me!"

"Sorry Lils," said one of the other boys, presumably Sirius. "I was just following the advice Marlene gave me."

"When I said get a new hobby, I meant like painting or something!" hissed Marlene, a blush threating to appear on her cheeks.

"Well, picking on Snivellus is my hobby!" Sirius shot back. The aforementioned boy who was tripped seemed to have disappeared during all the commotion, and the boys took their seats next the five girls. The two pranksters both had scruffy black hair, although Sirius's was much longer and curlier. One of the other boys, whose name Kasdeya did not yet know, had his nose buried in a book and Kasdeya could not get a good look at his face. The remaining boy was shorter than the others, with a rounder face, and appeared to have a more nervous disposition.

"Who is this?" asked James gesturing toward Kasdeya as he filled up his plate. Kasdeya looked over at Lily and they gave each other a playful smiled.

"You mean you really don't remember me?" Kasdeya asked, looking crestfallen. James shrugged and ruffled his hair.

"Honestly, James!" Lily huffed. "Is your head so big that you don't even notice the people around you? For god sake, she has been in your house for five years and you haven't bothered to learn her name!"

James's face went completely red as he looked at Kasdeya trying to stammer an apology for not knowing her name.

"Don't worry about it mate," whispered Sirius. "I don't know her name either."

"You knuckleheads! You are both so consumed in your pranking and popularity that you are completely ignorant to the world around you!" Mary spat, joining in on the fun. "Running around calling yourselves _the_ _marauders_ , with your childish nicknames! I mean _really!_

"Us?" asked Sirius, fake confusion on his face.

"Knuckleheads?" said James, looking offended.

"Childish?" said Sirius, now looking equally affronted.

" _Never!"_ They said in unison, their arms over each other's shoulder.

"In all honesty, that is probably putting lightly," said the sandy haired boy looking up from his book. "And perhaps the reason you don't know her is because she is a transfer student. Her name is Kasdeya."

"I knew it!" announced James. "I knew she was a new girl!" Lily stuck out her tongue at him and all the girls erupted into giggles. Remus, however maintained a straight face.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he continued. "I am Remus. And this here is Peter."

"Typical Mooney," sighed Sirius, pretending to swoon. "Always the gentlemen!"

"Cue the nicknames," muttered Alice. Kasdeya smiled lightly at Remus, but it slid off her face slightly as she took in his features. The other boys had very smooth clear skin, but Remus… He had scars that littered his face, and Kasdeya wondered what caused them. She knew better than to ask, because if someone asked about the scars on her back she might throw up at the idea of telling someone. She took a moment to consider how lucky she was that her scars were not somewhere people could see. Remus probably had to endure questions from people all the time.

She forced her smile back on her face and turned back to the conversation the girls were previously having. Kasdeya stuck a more-than-slightly-too-large spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth and was greatly enjoying their buttery taste when Sirius pretended to gag.

"Are you sure she is a new _girl,_ Prongs?" he snickered. "With those manners she seems more like an animal." Kasdeyas face flushed and she stuck out her tongue at him. It probably didn't help her case that her tongue was covered in the remnants of her last bite of potatoes, but she didn't care. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"What do _you_ know about manners, Black?" said Mary curtly. "I have seen you launch pudding at Peter with your spoon!"

"I know more than you think," he replied darkly before the boys started their own conversation, and the girls went back to theirs. No one seemed to look concerned by his statement. Maybe they already knew what he was talking about, or maybe they just didn't care. Kasdeya added it to her list of mysteries about these boys. So far she had 1) What is going on between the boys and that Slytherin guy? 2) Why is Remus called Mooney, and where did his scars come from? 3) What did Sirius mean by _more than you think_?

After dinner, everyone headed up to the common room. Kasdeya was annoyed that the marauders seemed to dominate her favorite couches by the fireplace. Most of the students had returned to their dorms already in an attempt to get a good night's sleep before the first day of classes. Marlene and Mary had disappeared to gossip and Lily had to do prefect duties with Remus. Kas resigned to playing wizards chess with Alice in the corner of the common room. Alice tried to get her to play exploding snap, which used to be one of Kasdeya's favorites as a kid, but the sound of the tiny explosions put her on edge nowadays.

Kas was about to capture Alice's king and when the game when suddenly the portrait hole swung open to reveal an irate Lily.

"JAMES POTTER," she bellowed. "The first day back and you and your friends are _already_ playing pranks!? I just had to spend an hour calming down a group of Slytherin _FIRST YEARS_ since you thought it would be _SO FUNNY_ to charm their books to attack them. THEY ARE FIRST YEARS!"

Remus stood awkwardly next to Lily, looking down at his feet and tugging his hair. Kasdeya guessed he was probably in on the prank too.

"They knew what they were getting into when they got into Slytherin!" James shot back.

"NOT ALL SLYTHERINS ARE BAD!" she screeched, her voice getting steadily higher pitched. Alice jumped up to calm her fuming redheaded friend and Remus hesitantly took a seat on the couch opposite James. James just grinned widely. Alice and Lily disappeared into the girls dorm, leaving Kasdeya to pack up their game. She sighed and looked at the chess board. _I was just about to win,_ she thought grumpily to herself. She leaned back in her chair and reached into her hoodie pocket, looking for Gerry her hedgehog. She frowned at the surprising lack of hedgehog in her hoodie pocket, and stood up to look for him.

Kasdeya surveyed the common room and then spotted him curled up on the rug next to the fireplace.

"Gerry!" she exclaimed, strolling over to her hedgehog and scooping him up in her hands.

"Is that a hedgehog?" asked Peter with his eyes wide.

"No, it's a horse," snorted Sirius and Peter blushed.

"An owl, a cat, a rat, or a toad," yawned Sirius, stretching out his arms. "Don't think hedgehogs fall under those categories."

"If I put fuzzy ears on him he can pass as a cat," Kasdeya said firmly. Sirius looked at her for a second before laughing.

"I like you, new girl," he stated.

"Thanks. I like me too," Kasdeya replied awkwardly. She shifted back and forth on her feet and looked between the boys. She stuffed Gerry and her pocket and muttered a quick "goodnight" before scurrying up the corridor towards her room, but stopped just out of their line of sight and listened to see what they were saying. Kasdeya knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, and if her father had ever caught her spying, she was in big trouble. But he wasn't here anymore.

"Why do you think she is here?" James asked.

"To get an education," replied another voice. Kasdeya didn't recognize it but guessed it was Remus.

"Haha. But really, who just changes schools in the middle of the year?"

"She did wait until term ended," the voice of reason replied.

"I don't trust it," Her heart sank. _Were they going to try to find out?_ She could never live with herself if they knew what she had done – it would put them in danger too.

"Leave her alone, Prongs,"

"I am just saying, its… odd," Kasdeya shook her head and continued up the stairs. There was no way she would let them find out.

The other girls had already gone to sleep, the curtains drawn around their beds. Kasdeya pulled Gerry out of her hoodie pocket. He had fallen asleep against the warmth of her body. She smiled slightly at him and placed him in his small bed on floor under her bed. She didn't want him on her nightstand in case he rolled off and fell to the ground, and also didn't want to risk anyone stepping on him. The space under her bed seemed the perfect spot to create a hedgehog hideaway.

Her bed felt cold against her legs and she suddenly missed the fresh air of the astronomy tower. She wished she could go up there but guessed it was a bad idea since term started. After closing her eyes, she found herself sleeping more soundly than ever.

 **Please review, I would really like to know what you think. Even if you hate it, please tell me why.**


	2. Chapter 2: Angle Trumpet's Draught

A/N thank you to everyone who read the first chapters, and especially to the people that have followed the story.

Please read and review!

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 **Chapter 2**

 **Angel's Trumpet Draught**

 _"How could you?" Kasdeya cried, the salty tears leaving her skin feeling dry. Her back ached from where she was tossed on the jagged rocks that littered the ground. Her shirt clung to her back as the blood from her wounds seeped out. A loud laugh cackled from above her. A sharp pain shot down the back of her head, and her hair fell in her face. She felt a thick red liquid drip down the side of her head, stark against her black hair. She screamed in pain and closed her eyes but the image was still there. He was still there. She tried to sit up but her arms gave out almost instantly and she fell back down on the ground. She forced her eyes back open to look for a way out. That's when she saw her._

 _Kasdeya dug her feet into the dirt trying to inch herself forward and extended her hand as far as she could. Kasdeya knew if she could reach this person it would all be over. As she reached out, she felt the person getting farther away._

 _"No!" she cried. "Please! No! I need you" Kasdeya laid her head back down on her arms in resignation and pulled her legs up to her chest. She buried her head into her knees and covered her ears to block out the painful screams of death that echoed from the poor souls around her._

"KAS WAKE UP!" sang an overly cheerful Lily as she yanked the curtains around Kasdeya's bed to the side.

Kasdeya let out a small scream and fell out of her bed. The harsh sunlight stung her eyes. She groaned from her uncomfortable position on the ground and rubbed her head. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the light from hurting her unadjusted pupils.

"Don't wanna be late on the first day of class! We have potions first!" Lily chirped.

Kasdeya sat up and shoved her dark wavy hair from her face. She smiled at the thought of her favorite subject – potions. She stood up and changed into her robes for the day.

"Kas, we are going to head down. You want us to wait for you?" said Alice, her book bag already over her shoulder.

"No, you go ahead. I am going to try to tame my hair," Kasdeya smiled back. Alice waved and the other girls headed down to breakfast. Kasdeya bit her lip as she looked into the mirror that hung near Mary's bed. She carefully examined the uniform she was wearing. Kasdeya hated the uniforms. They made her blend into the crowd. But that is probably what Dumbledore wanted. The longer she stared at her image, the less if felt like she was looking at herself. The mirror didn't show her a picture of Kasdeya Rendon, but Hogwarts student. Kasdeya released her lip from between her teeth and ran a brush through her hair, trying to pat it down. It was better than the tangled mess from earlier, but it always looked slightly wild and wispy. She added a small, bright red bow to her hair. She always had a small bow in her hair. It was childish, sure, but it was a habit. It steamed from when she was young with short hair and people mistook her for a boy. A small bow in her hair would silently tell them she was female. Kasdeya looked deep into her own eyes.

 _This is my new life,_ she thought to herself. _Those memories are in the past._ She scooped up her books and added them to her tattered leather bag before swinging it over her shoulder and heading out the door.

When she reached the great hall, the girls had already finished eating and had left. Kasdeya took her seat towards the end of the table, where no one else was sitting. She pulled out a book and opened it to where she left off. She had an odd obsession with muggle books. Her grandfather seemed to have hundreds of them in his library, and they had a weird type of simplicity to them. No magic to complicate things. Then, at the same time, they were ridiculously complicated to make up from their lack of magic. She was currently working through a historical fiction called _The Book Thief._ Kasdeya absently nibbled at her toast as she read.

"You don't have to sit alone, Kasdeya Grace!" a voice called from down the table. Kasdeya looked up from her book and saw Remus, sitting with his marauder buddies a little way down the table. He gestured from her to come and join them. Hesitantly, Kasdeya put her bookmark back and shoved the book back in her bag.

"Please, call me Kas," she said to Remus as she took a seat next to him.

"No thank you," said Remus politely, giving her a sly smile. "I quite like your full name."

"How did you even know my middle name?" Kasdeya huffed crossing her arms.

"I am a prefect. I have access to the roster of all the students at Hogwarts, and it has their middle names listed." He explained simply as he piled eggs onto his plate. She shook her head at him and added eggs to her plate too.

"So what were you reading over there?" asked Remus casually.

"The Book Thief. It's a muggle book," Kasdeya said. "Quite good actually. It's about this young girl in Germany during World War II who learns to read in secret and steals books to share with others." Remus nodded thoughtfully and gave her a smile.

"History from a muggle perspective is always very interesting," Remus concurred. "I just finished reading The Kite Runner, about the fall of the Afghanistan Monarchy." Sirius pretended to fall asleep on the table and snore.

"Sorry," he said with faux concern as he lifted his head. "The amount of boring at this table put me to sleep." Kasdeya stuck her tongue out at Sirius and made a face at him.

"And _I_ was the one that got called childish last night?" he teased and poked the bow in her hair. Kasdeya laughed. She looked at the boys around her. How could Lily be so short with them? They seemed like fun people. Kasdeya thought back to her childhood. She never really had friends. Her father found them a waste of time.

"So Prongs," Sirius drawled, and Kasdeya was snapped from her thoughts. "What's first on the list of torture today?" James pulled out a crumpled schedule from his pocket and smoothed it on the table.

"Potions with Ravenclaw," James replied. Peter leaned over to look at the schedule and in doing so dropped a huge glob of jam from his toast on the schedule.

"Wormtail," he sighed. Remus casually waved his wand to remove the sticky substance from the paper. James clicked his tongue in approval as he continued to read the schedule.

"Are you gonna try and ask out that Melanie girl from Ravenclaw?" Peter asked Sirius.

"Yeah right," snorted James. "Remember last time he talked to her? He ended up with a plate of spaghetti on his head." Kasdeya smirked. She would pay to see that.

"Oi! That was a sign of affection. You don't see her dropping spaghetti on just any boy's head, now do you," Sirius retorted.

"I am just glad we don't have potions with the Slytherins this term," Peter squeaked.

"Dunno," James frowned. "I'm gonna miss making Snivellus's potions explode."

" _Snivellus?"_ Kasdeya asked. "Was that the poor boy you tripped yesterday?"

" _Poor boy?"_ sneered James. "He is not so innocent. Lily might see the small amount of good way deep inside of him, but he is bad. Loves dark magic. Bet you anything he will be a death eater."

Kasdeya dropped her spoon.

"That is a very serious accusation, James." Kasdeya scolded, trying to remain calm and stay in the present. The dream she had last night edged its was into her mind and she had to fight to keep it back. "Death eaters are not just bad people… they are evil. The things they do – the pain they cause – the suffering- I just… That's very serious." She looked down at her plate, the table having gone silent. She looked up and they were all watching her. James looked incredibly suspicious.

"I know a death eater when I see one," said Sirius, a dark look in his eye. "And I see one in Snivellus." Kasdeya focused on her breathing. Dark wizards at Hogwarts? Her secret could really put people in danger.

"I am going to head out," she said slowly. "Don't want to be late to class." She stood up and collected her things. As she walked out of the hall, she looked back over her shoulder to see all four boys watching her walk away. Walking down the stairs to the potions room in the dungeon, she realized she didn't get much to eat. Besides the few spoonfulls of eggs and the bit of toast, she was on an empty stomach. She briefly considered going back to the dining hall, but she didn't want to face the boys stares.

The potions room was dimly lit, and smelled strongly of murtlap essence. Kasdeya stood in the door way and tapped the door frame lightly four times before entering. A few other students had begun to take their seats. She looked around until she found Lily, sitting next to Mary. Lily waved to her and beckoned her over.

"Hey Kas!" she said in her cheerful voice. "I see you found your way to the potions classroom!"

"Did you see Alice paired up with Frank?" Mary laughed. "They are so cute together!" Lily and Kasdeya craned their heads to see Alice who was smiling flirtatiously at a grinning Frank. The three girls giggled quietly as they watch the two students. Suddenly the door banged open and James strolled in with the marauders in tow. He flashed Lily a grin that she did not return and they took their seats.

Professor Slughorn entered the room and shuffled to the front desk. After rifling through some papers, he looked up.

"You must be Kasdeya Rendon," he smiled.

"It's just Kas," she said.

"Ah, well then _just Kas,_ " he said chuckling at his own joke. "We seem to have an odd number of students. Perhaps you would like to join Remus and Peter? Remus is one of our star students; he can help you catch up from last semester in no time at all!" Kasdeya nodded stiffly and walked over to their table.

"Hello again, Kasdeya Grace," Remus said, and Kasdeya rolled her eyes. Peter squirmed in his seat, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Now, today we are going to start with something a little more advanced," Slughorn announced. "But if you did your assigned potions reading over break it shouldn't be too difficult, eh? I want each of you to brew an Angel's Trumpet Draught. If you need help, look on page 160. Good luck to all!"

Kasdeya already felt at home. She could already tell potions was going to be one of her favorite subjects. She knew this potion by heart – as she did most potions. Thanks to her father.

"I will grab the ingredients!" she called over her shoulder to Remus and Peter as she strolled to the cabinet and started looking through the Angel Trumpet blossoms. Remus looked up from the potions book where he was reading the instructions and opened his mouth to say something but thought better and closed it. Kasdeya inspected the blossoms, looking for the slight purple tinge that symbolized they were in what her father referred to as "prime potion condition". Next, she looked through the bin with bottles of moondew that needed to be at a perfect baby blue color. She picked up a few of the dark grey caterpillars, lacewing flies, dried thyme, and dandelion roots before turning to head to the table.

"The recipe doesn't call for any moondew..." said Remus looking at her with frown.

"Trust me, the moondew helps dissolve the flies and creates a bond between the roots and blossom that makes the potion more potent," she replied as she lit a fire under her cauldron. Remus opened his mouth to say something again, but closed it and looked back at the recipe. She notices that he stuck his tongue out slightly from the corner of his mouth when he was thinking and laughed silently to herself.

"How do you know?" he finally asked her.

"Women's intuition," she smirked and Remus laughed lightly.

"Whatever you say," he chuckled and began chopping up his dandelion roots. Peter, who sat on the opposite side of Remus followed suite, but his pieces were not nearly as neat as Remus's. Kasdeya pointed her wand at the knife and it began cutting the root with perfect precision as she focused on getting the water in her cauldron to the right temperature.

Once she was satisfied with the small boil of the water, the added a few drops of moondew. Her potion turned a misty blue color that reminded her of her old bedroom. She smiled lightly and removed the wings of her lacewing flies before dropping them in and stirring it lazily with her wand. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Remus watching her, seemingly unsure if he should follow her advice or stick to the book. He finally decided to forgo the moondew and added in his flies to his cauldron. Kasdeya smiled to herself again, as she knew his cauldron was not nearly hot enough if he wanted to get the lacewing flies to dissolve without the moondew. Then if you heat it too much, it will burn the dandelion roots. _Geeze, people really should start listening to me more_ , she mused as she finished chopping the roots by hand.

She sat back and watched her potion simmer and felt her stomach growl in anger over the small breakfast. She sighed and rubbed her stomach thinking about the four hours left until lunch.

"Here," said Remus, not looking up from his potion and extended his hand with a napkin in it. She took it from him and unfolded the napkin to reveal a blueberry muffin.

"Remus you don't need to give me your food," she said handing it back. He looked up from his potion.

"I brought it for you," he stated simply. "You stormed off at breakfast after only eating a few bites of eggs." This time it was Kasdeya's turn to open her mouth then close it before saying anything. She gave him a big smiled and he nodded. She turned back to her potion, a small blush on her cheeks, partly from Remus's kind gesture, and partly from letting her emotions flare up and cause her to leave breakfast before eating.

She munched on the muffin as her potion started to change from bright red to dark. That would be the fly wings a work.

"How did you get your potion to be such a dark shade red?" inquired Remus, looking more curious than frustrated.

"I only added the wings of the flies, and then sprinkled the thyme in slowly," she responded, tossing a few caterpillars into the cauldron and waving her wand in a spiral pattern and muttering _azraela._ He looked from her to her cauldron to his potions book and then back to her.

"You haven't even opened your book," he stated.

"My father was a potions master," she admitted. "I have been practicing potions with him since I was old enough to walk." Remus pondered this and smiled. He looked back to his potion, seemingly satisfied with his work.

"Oh no," muttered Peter, whose potion turned a dark grey. Kasdeya leaned over Remus and pointed her wand at Peter's cauldron. The dried thyme flew out of his cauldron and landed on the table in front of him.

"Try crushing that up and sprinkling it in the potion slowly next time," Kasdeya told him politely.

"Thanks, Kas," Peter exclaimed. Remus caught her eye and they exchanged a look as they watched Peter smash the thyme with the butt of his wand.

"Here," said Remus gently handing him a mortar and pestle. Peter's mouth formed an o shape and he quickly started crushing the thyme with the pestle.

"Oh my," Slughorn exclaimed as he walked by Kasdeya's cauldron. "That is truly beautiful! The dark red of the potion, and the musty smell - it's perfect! Best in the class! Amazing work, Kas!" Lily picked up her head at this and looked over at Kasdeya bewilderedly. Lily was used to this praising going to her.

"Well done Kasdeya Grace," Remus beamed. "Slughorn wanted me to help you, but it looks like you taught me something instead."

"And what, exactly, did I teach you?" Kasdeya smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Always trust a women's intuition," he smirked.

"Please review the properties of ashwinder eggs and have a list of the potions it is used in by next class!" Slughorn called over the students who were already packing up their belongings. Kasdeya quickly cleaned out her cauldron and was placing her utensils back on the shelf when Slughorn called her over.

"You, my dear, have an amazing talent," he began, beaming at her. "Never would I have thought to use moondew! True genius! Now I wanted to invite you to a dinner I am hosting in a few weeks. Some of my best and brightest pupils will be attending. I like to have time to get to know my star students and learn about their ambitions. What do you say eh?"

"That sounds lovely," replied Kasdeya, although Kasdeya thought it really sounded quite miserable. "And Professor, I had something I wanted to ask you as well."

"Anything, my dear girl!" he smiled.

"I really love potions, and I was doing extensive research in the field at… my last school. I was wondering if you would let me use the potions room to continue some of my research to supplement my class studies." Kasdeya looked at him nervously, unsure what his response would be.

"Absolutely!" he exclaimed. "You passion for potions is truly inspiring. You are welcome to use the potions room at any time – just as long as you are not brewing anything dangerous." Kasdeya nodded, before awkwardly shuffling back over to her table to pack up her things. Remus sat on his stool and glanced over at her.

"Invited to the slug club?" he asked.

"Is that what it's called?" laughed Kasdeya. "Not very appealing is it?" He shook his head and she smiled at him.

"Remember you papers on asherwinder eggs!" Called Slughorn as the students began to shuffle out of the room.

Kasdeya swung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the room, a big smiled on her face. She wasn't particularly proud of her potion, no she could have done that in her sleep. She was, however, excited that she had gained access to the potions room. Now she could continue her work.

 **A/N thanks for reading. I should update pretty soon. It is fall break for me so I have a lot of time on my hands. PleASE ReVIEw**


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets and a Shoe Fiasco

A/N Thank you to anyone who is still reading this. I know it is not very popular, but I am having fun writing it so I shall continue. Please review, I love getting feedback.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Secrets and a Shoe Fiasco**

Kasdeya sat in the common room on the rug in front of the fireplace. The small hairs on the end of her quill stuck in odd directions from her constantly pressing it to her chin as she thought. Herbology was awful. Three textbooks laid on the carpet around her as she struggled to find some information that made sense to her. She would much rather be doing astronomy right now. Dumbledore had let her enroll in it even though she had never taken it. Her moon-tracking journal and her star charts were already some of the best in the class. Why couldn't herbology be like that? She sighed and took off her glasses and rubbed her palm against her eyes.

"Hey Kas," Alice greeted. She had just come down from the girls' dormitory and was wearing her winter coat and scarf.

"ALICE!" Kas cried throwing her arms in the air. "My savior! Have you come to explain the irrational world of herbology to me?"

"Well actually I was going to head down to watch the quidditch game."

"They have quidditch games here?" Kasdeya asked jumping to her feet.

"Uhh, yeah?" Alice answered. "Did they not have quidditch at your old school? I thought all wizarding schools had quidditch."

"Never mind that, we have a game to go to!" Kasdeya shouted dashing up the stairs to get her coat before grabbing Alice's wrist and dragging her out of the common room.

"Kas, you left your stuff all over the floor of the common room!"

"I will be _glad_ if someone steals my herbology homework," Kas snorted, hurrying down the corridor.

"Hey, you are going the wrong way!" Alice giggled as she jogged to keep up with the girl in front of her.

"I knew that!" Kasdeya stated as she turned on her heel and started walking down a different corridor. "Just a small wrong turn." Alice shook her head and turned to follow her friend down the hallway.

"Geeze Kas, how are you not out of breath yet?" Alice huffed.

"There is no time for breathing!" she cried as she took a sharp turn down another corridor.

"Kas, the stair cased has moved!" Alice screamed. Kasdeya flailed her arms in the air trying to gain her balance after she had come to a quick stop at the ledge of the platform. She pulled a few stray piece of hair from her face and laughed.

"Ha! That was a close call!" Kasdeya said over her shoulder, the tips of her feet over the edge of the platform. Alice shook her head.

"You really need to get a grip," she sighed. "You act like you have never seen a quidditch game before."

Kasdeya frowned.

"Sure I have," she said slowly. "I was just really busy last term and missed most of the games at my school."

Kasdeya normally would have felt bad lying, but over the past few weeks she had lied so much it felt like second nature to her. The truth was her father would never let her go to sports games. Her mother snuck her out of the house once to see a winged horse race, but never had she seen a quidditch game. The idea of it made her feel jumpy.

"Come on, I know a shortcut," Alice told her, pulling her away from the ledge and leading her down a different hallway to an old portrait. The portrait swung back to reveal another passageway which deposited them just in front of the main doors. Kas threw her body against the door to open it and rushed into the cold January air. Her glasses immediately fogged up from her breath, but she didn't care. She could see enough to tell where the quidditch pitch was.

The screams of excitement made Kas's stomach flip as she raced through the snow. She turned the corner to see the pitch and they walked up the stairs to the top of the stands. Kasdeya felt her hands tremble with excitement. She looked around in amazement at her surroundings.

"Over her Kas!" someone called, and she looked to see Lily, her face red from the cold wind. Kas smiled and rushed to join her friends. She took her seat next to Lily, and looked up at the game. Her jaw opened slightly in amazement at the spectacle before her.

"Gryffindor is in the lead with 170 to 10. Those foul snakes will never catch up to us! Prewitt has the quaffle and passes to the amazing, handsome James Potter," Kasdeya snapped her head up to see the Sirius was commentating the match in the stand to the right.

"Who in their right mind would ever let Black be the commentator?" Lily laughed.

"Leanne Macmillan usually commentates, but she is in the infirmary due to a nasty grindylow bite in care of magical creatures," someone in front of them explained. Kasdeya looked down to see that the voice came from Remus, who was sitting next to Peter in the row in front of them. "Sirius was appointed in a last minute, no other options situation."

Kas looked at Remus for a minute, studying his features. He looked sick.

"Are you okay Remus? You look really pale," Kasdeya asked and reached out to feel his forehead.

"Oh, I am fine, thank you for your concern," he smiled, leaning away from Kas's hand.

"Maybe you should go see Madame Pomphrey," Kasdeya said her eyes currently locked on the quidditch game."

"It's just a small cold. She already gave me a potion for it," Remus replied, but Kasdeya was not listening anymore. She was trying hard to figure out what exactly was happening in the game.

"Gryffindor keeper blocks a shot by Malfoy! Score remains at 170 to 10, the Lions in the lead!" Sirius's voice echoed over the speaker system. "That slime ball Carrow steals the quaffle. I will have to make sure to hex him later –"

"You will do nothing of the sort!" screeched an angry McGonagall beside him, who looked like she thoroughly regretted allowing him to do this.

"Carrow throws the quaffle toward the goal post – sure throws like a girl – manages to make it in by pure luck. 170 to 20 Gryffindor."

"WOOOO!" screamed Kasdeya jumping up and down.

"KAS! Why the hell are you rooting for Slytherin?" Lily gasped. Alice was giggling next to her.

"What?" Kasdeya asked with her head tilted sideways. She looked back out at the game and squinted. "How do you know who you are cheering for?"

Lily and Alice both looked at her with bewildered expressions, Alice still trying to hold back a laugh.

"Have you never seen a quidditch match?" Remus asked with an amused smile. In his sickly state, his smile looked rather pained.

"Yes," said Kasdeya unconvincingly. "I just never got the hang of it."

"Don't lie Kasdeya Grace, it doesn't work on you," Remus laughed. Kasdeya scrunched up her face in annoyance. He had no idea how good she had gotten at lying. He scooted over slightly and patted the seat next to him. "Here, I will explain it to you."

Kasdeya grinned and sat down next to him. He began to recount the rules of quidditch. Kasdeya furrowed her brow, and she listened intently trying to comprehend the game.

"Those bloody Slytherin beaters hit a bludger towards the Gryffindor chasers, giant gits…" Sirius announced.

"Black!"

"It seems both teams' seekers have spotted the snitch!" Sirius was almost on the edge of his seat, his bright blue eyes darting across the quidditch pitch intensely. "They are neck and neck! What does Malfoy think he is doing? He swerves in front of the Gryffindor seeker, forces the Gryffindor seeker to swerve sideways, – and it puts him behind the Slytherin seeker."

Sirius fell backwards in his seat and mumbled something unintelligible to the person next to him.

"It appears those lying cheating foul –"Sirius was cut off as McGonagall tried to wrestle the microphone away from him.

"Slytherins have won, 170-160," McGonagall barked. Sirius covered his eyes with his hands. James landed on the turf of the pitch and was alternating between cussing at Malfoy and trying to convince Madame Hooch that the Slytherin's fouled by blocking.

"I better go calm James down before he attacks someone," Remus muttered before hurrying off. Kasdeya noticed a slight smile on Lily's lips when Remus mentioned James.

Kasdeya looked around before getting up and stretching.

"I am going to head up to the library and try to find a herbology book that actually makes sense," she said. Alice and Lily nodded and linked arms as they walked off.

Kasdeya hurried up the steps to the Castle. She wiggled her nose as she walking in an attempt to warm it up. It had turned bright red from the cold air, and Alice had giggled at her, calling her Rudolph. The silent halls offered a strange sort of comfort. Kasdeya listened to her footsteps as she walked, trying to think of a way to pass her herbology class. She suddenly realized her footsteps sounded squishy. She looked down to see that her converse were not the best option to wear on a snowy day. After removing her shoes, she cast a drying spell on her socks. A toasty warm feeling spread over her feet and she smiled. There was nothing better than warm feet. She picked up her wet shoes, not bothering to dry them off, and continued down the hallway.

"I know who you are," a low voice said from behind her. She spun around and looked for the owner to the voice. The empty halls suddenly seemed big and overwhelming. A faint movement in the shadows caught her eye.

"Who's there?" Kasdeya asked softly. The figure stepped out of the shadows, and she saw Lucius Malfoy in front of her.

"Malfoy," Kas said. "Leave me alone." She turned to walk away but felt a hand on her shoulder. Her mind raced back to her memories. The image of him and a few other evil humans standing above her limp body as she struggled to fight flashed before her.

"Don't think you can just walk away from your past," he drawled. "You may be safe here under the watch of that oaf Dumbledore, but what happens when you leave here? Who will protect you then? The dark lord is not one to forget those who escape. No, he will track you down. He will make you pay for what you have done."

Kasdeya backed up, her eyes widening. This couldn't be happening. Lucius moved toward her, matching her steps.

"And I know _everything_ you have done." The look in his eye sent shivers down Kasdeya's spine. "Don't think that innocent act will work on me. You are just as bad as the rest of us."

Kasdeya closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You're WRONG!" she cried. "You don't know ANYTHING!" Tears were rolling down her cheeks by now and her nose was becoming stuffy.

"Is there a problem here?" a voice called from behind her. Lucius snapped his head up to look over Kasdeya's shoulder, but Kasdeya didn't need to look up. She knew it was that loud mouth Sirius Black, and no doubt had his hooligan friends with him. She quickly dried her tears off with her robes and wiped her snot on her sleeve.

"No." she stated, finally opening her eyes and looking at Lucius. "He was just leaving." Lucius frowned and leaned closer to her.

"You can never truly leave your past behind," Lucius spat, loud enough for the marauders to hear. He spun on his heel and disappeared into the shadows once again. Her anger bubbled up from inside her, replacing her feeling of sadness and despair. She let out a low growl and threw one of her wet shoes that were still in her hands at the back of his head. Of course, she had terrible aim and it missed him by about three yards. Cursing at herself and at Lucius and at whatever gods gave her this fate, she pulled out her wand and summoned her shoe.

"You wanna tell us what that was about?" James said as he strolled up to her, the other marauders in tow, and a suspicious look on his face. Peter was trying to look small behind Remus, who looked slightly unnerved by the confrontation.

"I have always had really bad aim," she replied, trying to avoid a confrontation. "Nothing to worry about though. I think it comes from not playing outside enough as a kid. Never got around to developing good hand eye coordination." The marauders looked only slightly amused, but James quickly went back to his serious face.

"What were you doing with Lucius Malfoy?" he said.

"You know what?" she said her hand on her hips. "As a matter of fact, I don't feel like talking to you about it." James looked her up and down. Suddenly he grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" she screamed, completely unsure of what was happening. He pushed her sleeve back and looked at her forearm. It was blank.

"Did you really think I was a death eater?" she snapped, her voice dripping with venom. She yanked her arm from his grip and rolled her sleeve back down hugging her arms to her body.

"I don't know what I think, but I think you are hiding something," he stated. He readjusted his glasses and looked her straight in the eye. "Something dangerous."

"Everyone is hiding something!" Kasdeya shot back.

"Not everyone is transferring to new schools and lying about her past or running around talking to death eaters in dark hallways!"

"Who says I am lying?" she growled. This time Remus spoke up.

"Kasdeya Grace, I don't think I've ever met a worse liar than you," Remus said, a smirk upon his lips.

"What are you hiding?" James blurted out.

Kasdeya took a deep breath.

"James, I promise you, I never asked for any of this," she rubbed her hands together and she spoke. She didn't realize how cold Lucius made her feel.

"Prongs, mate, maybe let this go," Sirius said. "I know you are just being protective, but I don't think she is going to hurt anyone." Kasdeya looked at Sirius carefully for the first time. Then it clicked. She knew him. He was there after the incident happened. He had tried to help her. Did he recognize her too?

James stood up straighter than before. Ruffling his hair, he gave her a threatening look.

"You better hope he is right," muttered James, narrowing his eyes. Kasdeya looked up at him.

"Maybe I was wrong," she said slowly looking at James. "I bet I have good aim if I am close enough to my target." James looked very confused and before he knew what was happening, she threw one of her wet shoes at him. He stumbled back a few steps then pulled out his want to retaliate, but she was gone.

Kasdeya ran down the hallway as quickly as she could, sliding on the smooth stone floor in her socks. _James had better give that shoe back_ she thought sourly. _Those are my favorite converse._ Kasdeya could hear the echo of James cursing and the other marauders laughing as she continued on her way to the library.

* * *

Kasdeya had managed to sneak into the common room without James seeing her. She was sure that he would try to hex her or something. Kas lay on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Her hedgehog Garry was sound asleep on her stomach. He was lying with his little legs in the air. He seemed to be having a good dream, and he moved his legs back and forth as though he was running. Kas rubbed his belly and he squirmed slightly under her touch but did not wake.

The thought of Sirius was driving her crazy. She needed to talk to him. What if he recognized her? What if he misunderstood when he first met her? What if he told James she had been at the Malfoy manor over the summer and they thought she was going to become a death eater? She groaned and closer her eyes.

"Are you okay, Kas?" Lily asked delicately. Lily had been working on a beautiful acrylic painting. Hogwarts didn't offer any art classes, but Lily had learned painting from her muggle school as a kid. She had an easel set up near the window where she would often pain the scenery of the Hogwarts grounds. Kasdeya loved her funny muggle paintings. Get this, the images were still! They didn't move! It was crazy. Kasdeya loved watching Lily paint. She would always get paint in her hair that would stand out against her bright red locks. No wonder James was infatuated with her – she really was adorable.

"Yeah, I just had a spat with James earlier today," Kas mumbled, opening one eye to watch Lily. Lily scrunched up her face and washed out her paintbrush in a small glass jar that sat on the window seal.

"James is a prat, I wouldn't worry what he thinks about you," she sniffed.

"Yeah, but I threw my shoe at him and I really need it back." Lily put her paintbrush down in the jar and started laughing.

"You… Threw…. Your… Shoe…. At him?" she cackled. "Oh I wish I could have seen the look on his dumb face!"

"Hey!" Kasdeya said sitting up on her bed and waking Garry up. "James loves you! Could you get my shoe back from him? Pleaseeee?" Lily stopped laughing and nodded.

"Yeah I can help you out," she said still smiling. She picked up her paintbrush again and went back to painting, but Kasdeya noticed the smiled never left her lips. Garry stretch out his paws and curled up in a ball, trying to go back to sleep. Kas carefully picked him up, set him in his fluffy pet bed, and got to her feet. She decided to see if she could find Sirius. It was going to eat her alive if she didn't ask him what he knew.

She tiptoed down to the common room, carefully making sure James was not around. She let out a breath when he was nowhere in sight. Sirius, however, was sitting near the fireplace, a girl fawning over him. Sirius looked only mildly interested in her as she stroked his arm, cooing at his muscles.

"Sirius?" Kasdeya said nervously. Sirius looked up at Kasdeya from his position on the couch. The girl next to him was admittedly very attractive, but looked completely pissed that Kasdeya was interrupting. This girl obviously thought too highly of herself.

"Excuse me," the girl snapped. "We would like some privacy!"

"Actually yes, we would like some privacy," Sirius said lazily, getting up. Kas gritted her teeth and was about to scream at him when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward to the door. "Come on Kas, let's go somewhere more private." Kas felt herself smile and couldn't help but turn around and stick her tongue out at the girl.

Sirius led her to an empty classroom and closed the door behind them before casting mufflatio to stop any eavesdropping. Kasdeya carefully sat down on one of the desks and watched Sirius run his hands through his hair.

"Do you remember me?" Kasdeya asked with her head tilted slightly.

"I didn't until I saw you in the hallway," he stated. "Sorry about James. He gets very protective when he thinks there might be a threat. It's getting scary out there."

"So you know then?" she whispered.

"I know… some," he replied. "I know that you were captured by them this last summer. I know that they wanted something from you. I know they were going to, uh, kill you. And I know that you escaped."

Kasdeya didn't say anything for a while, until Sirius looked at her waiting for a longer explanation.

"Yeah. He has been after my family for a while. I used to live in this small little town with my family. God, we were so _normal_ back then. One day, he arrived. He killed my grandparents, and tried to kill my parents too. So we ran. After that, we moved around constantly. I didn't go to Hogwarts because my parents didn't want him to know where I was. They thought it was too risky. Ridiculous, right? Hogwarts is the safest place I could have possibly been. But one day he found us. Someone betrayed us, but I don't know who. Then, he killed my parents. He… he was going to kill me but I escaped. Ran out the backdoor while he was…"

Kas shuttered as the image of her parents writhing in pain on the floor of her living room entered her mind. For a split second she could clearly hear her mothers agonizing screams. Kas clutched her hands to her head and forced the memory down.

"I didn't look back. I don't know how I could leave my parents there like that, but I did. I fled to a neighbor's house and used their floo network to get as far away as I could. His followers caught me a few days later though. Over powered me. I didn't think I would get away. I was in this house, and all these people were around me – I didn't know what was happening. I remember seeing you. You looked _so sad._ I remember you helped me. You distracted them one night and I got away. After that I was on the run until they cornered me. Somehow Dumbledore was able to send members from the order to find me. They brought me back here. Gave me a cover story."

"Why were they after you?" Sirius asked. "Voldemort kills for fun, but doesn't seek people out and chase them without a reason."

"I… I would rather not say," Kasdeya mumbled. "I don't want you to think less of me."

"I would never –"

"Please?"

Sirius nodded slowly.

"Why were you there?" she blurted out.

"My loving parents had been trying to get me to join the dark side," he sneered. "They thought if they sent me along with my dear brother to the death eater gatherings I would suddenly see the error of my ways and join them. Usually it was just a bunch of gits like my brother talking about how they hated muggle borns. But after I saw them abusing you I knew I had to get out. So after I left the door unlocked for you that night, I didn't return either. I actually live with James now. His parents have always been more loving than my own."

"When… when you left and went to James's, did you, uh, tell James about what you saw? With me?" Kasdeya stuttered.

"Yes… but he doesn't know that the girl I helped was you." He said thoughtfully. "I didn't even know it was you until earlier today."

"Are you going to tell him?" Kasdeya asked after a long silence.

"I tell him everything. He is like my brother. More like my brother than my real brother anyway. But if you don't want me to, this isn't my secret to tell."

Kasdeya released her breath and looked up at him.

"James would never have confronted you if he knew the truth," Sirius added. "You could tell him. He is a good guy, and he is more understanding and helpful than you think. He was also just on edge from the quidditch game. He is normally much less of a prat."

"I don't think I know him well enough to confide all this in him," Kasdeya admitted. Sirius nodded and stood up to leave.

"Wait! Thank you. For helping me get out, for talking to me. Thank you," Kasdeya threw herself in Sirius's arms and buried her head in his robes. He stumbled backward at the sudden force against him.

"Are you okay?" he asked wearily.

"I just don't feel so alone anymore," she muttered into his robe.

"I know that feeling," he chuckled humorlessly and patted her back a few times.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Kasdeya asked nervously as she pulled away from him and straightened her robes.

"I promise I won't."

They looked at each other before Kas finally broke the silence again.

"Will James give me my shoe back?" she asked. Sirius blinked in surprise then let out a loud bark of laughter.

"Oh man! That moment was pure gold!" Sirius said in between bouts of laughter. "The sole of your shoe hit him right in the forehead! Left a big wet muddy footprint on his face!"

"Uuuugg, I bet he REALLY hates me know!" Kasdeya whined as she leaned back against the wall. Sirius looked at her for a moment.

"Actually, I think he liked that you stood up to him. Not many people do. Granted, he still does not trust you and thinks you are a spy or something, but I think you may have earned a little respect from him. He admires brave people. That being said, watch your back. He is not known to let people throw their shoes at him and get away with it." Sirius looked up at the clock on the wall, and suddenly his demeanor changed.

"Oh shit, I gotta go! I am gonna be late!" he said. "See ya later _Kas-_ adilla!"

 _Kas-adilla? Oh I am not going to let THAT nickname stick. I hate quesadillas!_ Kas shook her head and walked out of the classroom. Thoughts of the conversation swirled in her head. Maybe now would be a good time to work on some potions and try to clear her head. But first, she needed her shoe. She may be reckless, but she would never try to brew a potion barefoot.

She headed up to the Gryffindor common room to see if she could get Lily to help her with this shoe fiasco.

 **A/N Thank you for reaDING I LOve you ALL GOOdnighT**


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